+ FORECAST OUTLOOK: MAN-YI is expected to continue inten-sifying as it traverses the Northern Philippine Sea & shall move in a generally NW'ly track for the next 24 hours before turning North tomorrow. Majority of the com-puter forecast models continue to show a path towards Okinawa-Southern Japan area this weekend (Jul 13 to 15). The 2 to 4-day long-range forecast (Jul 13 to 15) shows the system reaching almost Super Typhoon strength with winds of 230 km/hr tonight and shall pass over Okinawa, Japan tomorrow morning, Friday the 13th (approx 11 AM HK Time). It shall move NE to ENE passing along the beach-front-coastal areas of Kyushu, Shikoku & Honshu. The eye of MAN-YI is forecast to make landfall over Southern Hon-shu or just to the South of Kyoto, Japan by early Sunday morning, Jul 15. MAN-YI is likely to become an Extratro-pical Cyclone after crossing the coastal areas of Honshu, Japan (early Monday morning, Jul 16.

+ EFFECTS: MAN-YI's over-all circulation remains large and continues to cover most of the Philippine Sea. Its outer bands is expected to reach Okinawa and the Ryukyus today. Overcast skies with moderate to heavy rains & gale-force winds of 55-65 km/hr is expected. Coastal Storm Surge flooding of 13 to 15 feet above normal tide levels...along with large and dangerous battering waves can be expected near and to the north of MAN-YI's projected path.

+ CURRENT MONSOON INTENSITY: Southwest (SW) Monsoon affec-ting most of the Philippines today until Sat or Sun (Jul 14-15) as Typhoon MAN-YI contines to enhance it. Cloudy skies with intermittent passing rains or thunderstorms can be expected across the country w/ SW'ly winds of 30 km/hr or higher, becoming more frequent along the Western sections of Palawan and Western Visayas. Western Luzon and Metro Mani-la may experience this monsoon system later today or tomorrow. Mudslides and flooding is likely along river banks, low-lying & flood-prone areas of Western Luzon & Western Visayas. Stay tuned for more Monsoon updates in the coming hours.

+ TROPICAL CYCLONE WATCH: N/A.

Important Note:Please keep in mind that the above forecast outlook, effects & current monsoon intensity, and tropical cyclone watch changes every 06 to 12 hours!_______________________________________________________________________

* - Based on PAGASA's Philippine Storm Warning Signals, # 4 being the highest. Red letters indicate new areas being hoisted. For more explanations on these signals, visit: http://www.typhoon2000.ph/signals.htm

** - Based on the Tropical Cyclone's Wave Height near its center.__________________________________________________________________________________________>> To know the meteorological terminologies and acronyms used on this update visit the ff: